Hi everyone. I'm fortunate enough to hunt 75 acres in southern Delaware. The only problem is there are no oak trees on the property. I want to plant a few oaks and was wondering if anybody had any planting tips. Also some variety help would be nice. Was thinking sawtooth oaks. Thanks in advance.
This should cover just about anything you need to know: http://www.nativnurseries.com/t-howto.aspx Just be aware it could be as long as 10 years before you start to get mast from the oaks. If you want faster results maybe look into fruit trees like pears. They can produce in as little as 3 to 5 years depending on how big of a tree you start with.
Sawtooths can start producing acorns in 5 years and can produce heavy crops in 7+. I'd say they are the best option for acorn production. Faster mast production would need to be fruit trees of some sort. We have a very few that are volunteer about 8' tall and have their first acorns on them this year. I nearly mowed them off the other day before I realized they were there and what they were. I know they are volunteer because all the planted trees are in neat blocks and are 30+ feet tall. I wouldn't let the naysayers of planting trees dissuade me from doing it based on time to produce crop. It's never too late to improve habitat and plant trees. If you don't get use from it, someone years later will. I didn't plant ours but I'd like to thank the person that did and the property sold for a better price because they were there and established. The trees alone can improve habitat until they produce acorns. Diversity of species is also a good idea. ST oaks are great but not perfect, they drop in a short span of time and fairly early.
I planted native and hybrid oak seedlings hear in Va 10 -12 years ago ( river bottom land) , some began at nine producing . Most will follow soon. Willow and Cherrybark Oaks close to 24 " in diameter! I also have seedlings a couple feet tall from the acorns collected . Some varities have reached 30 feet planted 12 years ago.
You could not be more wrong on this. There are plenty of varieties of oaks that will produce acorns long before 20 years. If everyone thought like this, nobody would plant trees. I have planted over 12,000 hardwoods on a 20 acre piece. I will live long enough to enjoy the benefits. And, if I don't, someone will certainly be glad that I went to the effort. Planting a variety is the key to avoid losing all to a blight or insect infestation.
Not wrong at all, To each their own. Its not a matter of will they produce before, it is a matter of how much benefit would I get from the time, effort and money and is there a better way for me to utilize MY resources. My main hunting area has NO oaks, people have tried to bring acorns and use them as bait, and the deer don't touch them. Sure I could plant some Oaks and start getting acorns after while and then wait for the deer to discover what they are and I could get a few good years, would be feeding the squirrels and chipmunks more. Or I could put my effort into something that will pay off sooner and benefit me more. I would have no problem planting them if I was planning on keeping the land and hunting it for longer.
Well, the OP was wanting to plant oaks and looking for planting tips and advice. So, telling him to forget it might not have been quite what he was looking for. Making it sound like it would take 20 years to benefit was certainly not accurate. Like you said, to each their own I guess.
Add in some chestnuts while you're at it. Like was said variety is key. Give a call to the guys at flatwood natives. Good people. Will give you great advise. http://www.flatwoodnatives.com/ Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
